Your A+ Clients Generate More...

Written by Joann Javons


I was waiting to pick up my car at my local auto mechanic’s garage when I overheard an interesting conversation. The owner ofrepparttar garage abruptly pulled a sales person aside and without realizing I was within earshot, said torepparttar 120916 sales person:

“That woman over there is NOT one of our A+ customers! Butrepparttar 120917 blonde is…take care of her.”

Since I wasrepparttar 120918 only blonde inrepparttar 120919 place, I was relieved to be consideredrepparttar 120920 A+ customer! From that moment on,repparttar 120921 service I received was impeccable.

Now, how did I attain that rating, A+ customer? I’m not sure I could tell you. But I can tell you that major corporations rate their customers allrepparttar 120922 time. So do small businesses.

I bet you do, too. Even if you rate your clients on an informal basis, you’re doing it, inrepparttar 120923 recesses of your mind, silently. Because you KNOW who your best clients are.

The Pareto Principle operates here: 80% of your results comes from 20% of your clients. So, what makes uprepparttar 120924 top 20% of your clients,repparttar 120925 A+ group?

Is your top 20% comprised of clients who generaterepparttar 120926 most revenue for you? Some people would say 'yes'. I don’t think so.

I think results come in different forms. Revenue is one measure. There are additional measures.

I think your top 20% gives you MORE. They do more for you, assuming they meet your criteria for your ideal client.

Your ideal client represents your niche market. Once you're clear on your ideal client, you'll be able to market your services torepparttar 120927 right people. Marketing torepparttar 120928 right people always gives your MORE.

Michael E. Gerber addresses this issue well in "The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to do About It", available at Amazon.com and offline bookstores.

David Steele actually helps you work through and define your ideal client and your niche market in a practical way you can immediately apply to your practice. To define your ideal client and niche market, see his downloadable book "Build Your Practice In 90 Days" at: http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=43164

Fear of Selling

Written by Joann Javons


When I discuss selling with professionals who want to put their business online, they start to squirm at mention ofrepparttar very word.

When I ask professionals WHY they want to put their business online, these are their answers:

"I want to build credibility"

"You need to have a web site to be seen as a legitimate business today."

"To get feedback on my product."

"I want to increase my visibility."

"To establish a professional image online."

"To provide information."

True enough. All of these are good reasons but they are reallyrepparttar 120915 stepping stones to your end goal. Notice thatrepparttar 120916 words "sell" or "market" aren't even mentioned on this list!

If you want to put your business online 'to build credibility', for example, why exactly do you want to build credibility? Yes, you want to establish credibility and trust in your relationships. But why?

Why Are You In Business?

The reason is that you have a product or service to sell. Aren't you in business to make an honest living doing something you love to do? But "selling" sounds crass, aggressive, pushy and decidedly unprofessional to many of us. If that's true for you, I suggest you substitute two other words in your thinking: relationship marketing. Inrepparttar 120917 end,repparttar 120918 results arerepparttar 120919 same if you do it right.

If you do any type of professional consulting, you're doing relationship marketing (or selling) because you want your client to say "yes" torepparttar 120920 services or products you offer. When a potential client says "yes" to your product or service, you've just made a sale!

No one said you have to be pushy, arrogant, aggressive or obnoxious. Unless you want to go out of business. But you can also go out of business another way: by getting stuck on any ofrepparttar 120921 stepping stones to your end goal. Credibility, trust, information are all part of relationship marketing but if you make these stepping stones your end goal, you have stopped short of having a successful business.

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